Some people just want to fix the world
by Lieju
Summary: SPOILERS FOR DUAL DESTINIES. The worst possible ending came true; Blackquill was executed, Aura disappeared with the hostages, Athena left the office, and Phoenix gave up on being a lawyer. But maybe this is just the beginning. Secrets are about to come to light, as players behind the scenes are forced to make their move...
1. Phoenix Objects

**A/N:**

**This whole thing started out as this silly explanation I gave to someone I know about how the 'Bad ending' in Dual Destinies ( that you get when failing in Blackquill's mood matrix) wasn't as horrible as it sounded. And then I wrote this and tried to keep everyone in-character, which led to this becoming more depressing. **

* * *

Prosecutor Blackquill was executed as scheduled the next day.

As for Aura Blackquill…

She and her robots took Trucy and the rest of the hostages and vanished without a trace.

Athena left the office… Apollo stopped smiling…

And I, realizing my uselessness as a lawyer, took off my badge for good.

…

However, that was not the end of it.

"**OBJECTION!"**

I hit the mahogany desk in anger.

"How can 37 people just _disappear?!"_

"Wright, we are not in court. Stop abusing my desk." Edgeworth reminded me. However harsh his words might have been I could see it was just a defense-mechanism. He didn't want to say what he was really thinking.

I sat down. "She isn't dead, Edgeworth. Trucy isn't dead."

He simply nodded. This wasn't the first time we had had this conversation, far from it. This is how it would go every single time; we would meet in his office and try to gather information on the kidnapping incident where Aura Blackquill had disappeared with my daughter and 36 other hostages, Edgeworth would insinuate that I should not get my hopes up, and I would storm out of the office.

"I wish you're right. I really do." He told me, once again.

"But?" I pressed him, wanting to force him to say it.

"It has been a almost a month."

This is where I would usually leave in anger, but now I stayed.

"I asked Pearls to attempt to channel Trucy."

Edgeworth directed his piercing eyes to me, startled. I expected him to say something disparaging about the channeling technique, how it was all fake and nothing but fantasy for the feeble-minded who were grasping at straws. Instead, all he said was

"And?"

I realized he wanted to hope as well.

If only I could have given him more than what I got. I looked him in the eye, and lied.

"She couldn't channel her. It means Trucy is alive."

* * *

**A/N: What you can expect from this fic;**

**Spoilers and references to all AA games apart from Gyakuten Kenji 2, very short chapters, weird stuff and a plot that will go wherever I feel like. I'll make an attempt to keep people in-character, though. Unless I feel like not doing that. This is basically something I wrote in-between all my other stuff.**


	2. Pearl Channels

Phoenix opened the door. It was difficult for him to come there, and face the empty office.

His daughter was gone, as was Athena, and Apollo had grown increasingly distant, spending his days working on his own, no longer trusting his boss to find the truth. Most days Phoenix didn't visit the office at all, preferring to either work with Edgeworth over at the Prosecutor's building, or to do legwork, running around the city after any lead, no matter how small.

But seeing the girl in the office was like a ray of sunshine.

"Pearls! How are you?"

She bowed. "I'm well. And I've re-arranged all your files, cleaned the toilet, washed the windows, and mopped up the floor."

"You really shouldn't have. It's not like we are having many clients lately. Not after…" His voice trailed off.

"Mr. Nick! Are you ready to try again?" Pearl hurried to interrupt his train of thought.

Phoenix gave her a smile. "It's not really me who will be doing all the work. Are you sure you're ready to try again?"

She nodded, giving him her brightest smile. "I have been fasting to make myself more susceptible to the otherworldly powers. I couldn't find a waterfall, but I sat in a cold bath for an hour."

Phoenix looked worried. "Don't overdo it. Wouldn't want you to catch a cold."

"I won't. It was nothing compared to my usual training." Pearl took out the candles and incense they had used before in their attempts at channeling.

"You wish me to try channeling Trucy, right?" She asked shyly. "It was just thinking maybe we could try other people who disappeared?"

Phoenix nodded. "My thoughts exactly. I have the police-files on some of the kidnapped people."

"What about Miss Blackquill?"

Phoenix shook his head. "_Don't._"

"I'm sure it would be okay if I-"

"No, Pearls. Don't even think of it. We will only attempt to channel people who are not… Who are harmless."

Pearl bit her thumb. "I understand."

They sat on the floor facing each other, the scent of incense heavy in the air and began the ritual.

But just like before, nothing happened.

"I can't reach her, Mr. Nick. I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be sorry. After all, that would mean she is dead."

"Yes… But… It's not the same as trying to channel someone who is alive, or being channeled by someone else. I know what that is like. This is like trying to reach out, and only finding fog, but one that's made of porridge. Usually spirit-world is like diving into a pool of fresh water, but now it's more like a murky swamp. Am I making sense?"

"I can't channel, so I don't know what it should feel like. Can you tell if it's something wrong with the spirit-world, or your abilities? Can you channel people you know for sure are dead?"

"I'll try."

She thought of the recently deceased nun Bikini, and focused. To her surprise, she felt the same porridge-fog obstructing her this time. And she knew Bikini was recently dead, and someone she had been able to channel recently.

Pearl tried thinking someone else who she could try contacting.

Prosecutor Blackquill. That was perfect for channeling, he had died recently, and considering the circumstances of his death he was most likely not at peace, and so easy to contact.

She thought of letting Mr. Nick know what she was about to attempt, but decided against it just in case he would tell her no.

It would be fine, Mr. Blackquill had been a good man, after all.

Pearl focused, and this time she could feel something. A familiar tugging at her mind.

She followed the feeling, trying to reach out to the spirit. The spirit-world was still weird, foggy and difficult to navigate. She breathed deeply, smelling the incense, keeping herself aware of her body, anchoring herself to the physical realm. It helped her get her bearings, and she was able to move towards the dead soul.

Pearl reached out to the spirit she had summoned, expecting it to enter her body.

It circled around her, like an untrusting animal. She knew from experience some spirits were like this, vary of the channeler, so she tried to let the spirit know she wasn't a threat.

_It's okay, I won't harm you._

It reached in, closer and closer. Pearl prepared to let it in her body.

Instead, it snapped around her like a some kind of a snake, greedily and almost like it was hungry.

Startled, she was pulled in, the dark, cold spirit closing around her.

And she screamed.


	3. Athena Trains

Athena sat down on the boulder almost blocking the mountain path and took a sip from her thermos.

Her daily training had done nothing to prepare her for this.

Well, nothing to it. At least the constant exertion kept her mind off things. That was the only way she could cope.

She let the hot chocolate warm her. It wouldn't do to freeze to death now. She wasn't going to end her life as a human popsicle on the one of the less hospitable snowy mountain peaks of Zheng Fa.

She had become a lawyer to save Simon, and she had failed. Now she faced a new obstacle. But she would not give into her pain.

All she'd have to do was become more.

She nodded to herself, her determination reaffirmed, and she continued her trek, hoping they'd have warm fire at her destination.

Finally, after she had been almost sure she had taken wrong path somewhere, she reached the monastery.

"Hello?" She knocked on the door. "Let me in, I brought your stupid blue flower you wanted!"

The door opened without a warning, almost making her fall on her face.

She was greeted by a nun dressed in simple robes that made Athena feel even colder just looking at them.

She took the flower, and inspected it, twirling it on her fingers. "What do you seek, child?"

Athena tried to look as dignified as she could with her teeth clattering. "I seek training."

"You didn't answer my question. What do you seek?" the woman repeated with her accented English, her stunningly red eyes fixed on Athena.

"I seek justice. I seek to become stronger, to not lose anyone anymore. And to save those I can."

"Very well."

Athena just managed to dodge her punch. "Hey!" She protested. "What are you doing?"

"You wished to be trained in the art of Gouyu-Fu."

Athena jumped back to avoid being kicked, but stumbled. "Yeah, but not right now! I just climbed over a _mountain!_"

"I know." Another kick. This time it connected, sending Athena flying. She managed to avoid being badly hurt by rolling, but ended up falling on the cold stone floor, her side where she had been kicked hurting. "It's not fair!"

The nun stood, glaring at the girl at her feet. Athena wondered if her eyes had for a moment shone with red light, or if it had been just a reflection from a nearby torch playing tricks. "And will your enemies show you 'fairness'? Why should I coddle you when I should prepare you?"

Athena struggled to get at least into a sitting position. "Just thought I'd object…"

She pulled herself up and did her best to take a fighting stance, ignoring her pain and fatigue. "What are you waiting for, then? Let's continue!"

Her opponent stood, staring at the girl.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, she broke into hysterical laughter.

"Heh heh heh heh he! You have spirit, I give you that!"

Athena remarked how her accent had completely vanished.

"Who are you?"

The nun stopped, suddenly serious again.

"Who am I? Now that _is _a question. I was once like you, aimless and looking for help. For truth, for meaning. I found it here."

Athena could hear a heavy weight behind her words, but she was too tired to focus properly.

There definitely were many secrets she was hiding.

And yet she couldn't hear discord in her heart.

So Athena nodded. "I want to see that truth myself."

Athena realized she hadn't formally introduced herself. She slightly bowed, never breaking eye-contact just in case she'd get kicked again. "My name is Athena Cykes. I humbly request to be accepted as an apprentice."

The nun grinned. "Names hold very little meaning for me anymore, I have taken and thrown too many away. But you may call me Himiko. You are accepted as an apprentice on a trial basis. Once the Master pays us one of her visits she will make the final decision on whether you will be accepted into the Sisterhood."

The woman called Himiko laughed again, this time sending a chill down Athena's spine.

"Of course, that is assuming both your body and mind will survive until then."


	4. Phoenix Worries

"Can you channel people you know are dead?", I suggested.

"I'll try."

Pearls sat still, slipping into the trance or trance-like state. I kept my eye on her, ready to spot any physical change that would signal a successful channeling. I wanted to ask who she was trying to contact so that I'd know what to expect, but since I didn't want to break her concentration I remained silent.

This all bothered me. I knew she was an experienced spirit-medium, even at her young age, but this was still more than little bit spooky, and it wasn't like we hadn't had bad experiences with channeling. Pearl had assured me she was in no danger and knew what she was doing, controlling her body so that the summoned soul couldn't do anything she didn't want it to, but I couldn't help remembering certain channeling that had resulted in Maya's mother's death.

Suddenly, there was a sound that interrupted my worrying thoughts.

"Pearls?" It was as if she had mumbled something.

The next thing I knew she was slumped over, screaming and twitching as if having a seizure.

"Pearls!"

Unsure what to do, I shook her. "Can you hear me!? Pearls, follow my voice!"

I knew this was a bad idea! What was I thinking, putting her through this when it was clear channeling wasn't working properly!?

I tried to think. Focus on what I knew about Kurain Channeling Technique.

The incense. I remembered Pearls saying something about it helping her stay in control of the spirit inside her.

I waved them in front of her. "Pearls! Try to focus! Can you smell it? Please, come back, Maya would be sad if you got lost! Me too! And Trucy and Apollo and Miles and Athena and everyone!"

She went limp on my arms. "Mr. Nick?"

"Pearls? Are you okay? Is that you, Pearls?" For a moment I was afraid she was lost and something from beyond was now inhabiting her body. But her eyes reassured me this was the sweet girl I knew.

"I'm… I'm fine, Mr. Nick. Sorry to worry you."

"Don't apologize, you don't need to. What happened?"

I helped her to the couch, and went to quickly extinguish the candles. Some of them had fallen over, but luckily nothing had caught fire. The fire-hazard taken care of, I walked to the sofa and sat next to her. If she had still been the little kid I had first met I wouldn't have hesitated to hug her. As it was I was unsure how appropriate it was, and simply put a hand on her shoulder, hoping it would calm her.

"I tried to channel Bikini." She told me.

"And that caused this?"

She shook her head. "It was just like when I tried to contact Trucy. So there's something wrong with the spirit-world."

"So it was the spirit-world that caused this?"

She shook her head again. "After it didn't work I decided to try someone else. I tried Mr. Blackquill."

"Simon Blackquill?"

She looked at me, as if trying to judge my reaction.

"You should have told me. What happened?" I tried to sound as comforting as I could. The last thing I wanted was giving her an impression I was angry with her.

She bit her thumb, reminding me how young she still was. "I'm not sure. I think I did connect to him. But it was all wrong. His spirit was… Cold."

I nodded, hoping it would encourage her to continue. I wasn't sure what this meant, but maybe it had something to do with how the spirit-world was.

"It was just wrong. It was like it tried to _eat _me. It pulled me in, and it was just so heavy and _dead_."

"Well, he is dead, and his death wasn't pleasant…" I felt stupid as soon as I had said that. What death was _pleasant? _But I was at a loss, unsure what the right thing to say would be.

She shook her head.

"No, usually after the body dies, spirit goes free. But this was just so earthly. Like a corpse."

I pulled her to a hug. "I'm so sorry I put you through this."


	5. Pearl Dreams

Pearl was falling. No, she was sinking through dark, cold water. She knew she should be afraid, that she should be feeling suffocated, but all that seemed inconsequential, like all of her feelings were just an echo of something else.

And then she was moving through the dark city on foot, seeking something.

She didn't know what it was, only that she needed to get to it… It was a burning need, overwhelming her senses and mind.

On her way she passed people, but for some reason she tried to avoid crowds. Pearl couldn't remember why she was so adamant to stay hidden and unnoticed, but somehow she knew she couldn't attract attention. It was difficult to focus, so she decided to just listen to this instinct telling her to answer this call she could feel tugging at her mind.

At this point Pearl realized she was dreaming. She wasn't sure, but it felt like she was dreaming she was someone else, someone much taller than her.

Unable to do much else than watch her body, or the body of this dream, stalk through the night city, she simply followed where the dream took her, throughout the back alleys to a deserted park.

No people. That made her feel safer.

But she couldn't help the subtle feeling of dread. She wanted to get home, if was urgent.

_Mr. Nick. _Pearl thought. He would know what to do.

In her dream, the person she was dreaming about stopped, as if to listen.

Pearl did her best to appear insignificant. She wasn't sure who this person in her dream was, but something about them scared her, and she was afraid they had heard her thoughts.

He said something, Pearls couldn't quite hear what, but she realized whoever it was apparently was a man, and somehow familiar, which for some reason didn't make her any less scared. For a moment she thought he was talking to her, but like summoned, a bird flew to his shoulder, and he spoke again, telling it something.

The bird flew away, disappearing to the night sky.

He looked around, like he was uncertain what he was doing there.

It was only then that Pearl realized where they had arrived.

It was dark, and the familiar street looked more uninviting by night, but the location was unmistakable. They were outside of the building housing the Wright Anything Agency.

* * *

Pearl jolted awake, for a moment scared and disoriented before she remembered she was sleeping on the sofa in the agency, not in her bed back in Kurain. The dream still fresh in her mind, she ran to the window, almost tripping over Trucy's magic props, and looked frantically to the deserted street, trying to spot the man from her dream.

There was no one.

Had it been just a dream?

It must have been.

But suddenly Pearl felt very alone in the office, and like morning couldn't come quickly enough.


	6. Phoenix Investigates

Phoenix stepped out of the bus, bracing himself against the cold winter wind. At least it hadn't been snowing.

This wasn't his first visit to this small cemetery, so he knew where the grave he was looking for lay and it didn't take him long to find the simple gravestone with the text:

_Simon Blackquill _

_1999 - 2027_

Phoenix didn't know what he had hoped to find, but it wasn't like he had any other leads. He wasn't sure what to think about the incident with the channeling, and whether it had anything to do with Blackquill, even less with _Aura _Blackquill, but he was getting desperate. And this was his style of investigation; grasping at straws and trying to figure out the truths behind even seemingly unrelated mysteries, believing that truth would lead to other truths, hopefully eventually leading to the answers he needed.

It seemed, somewhat to his surprise, that someone had visited the grave recently, as there were flowers that hadn't fully wilted yet. Phoenix wondered if those had been left by Athena.

_I wonder where she is now?_

He was startled from his thoughts by a loud voice.

"Mr. Lawyer!"

Phoenix turned to see the detective. "Hello, Mr. Fulbright."

He noticed the white-clad man was holding a bouquet of flowers similar to the ones on the grave. Phoenix felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't even thought of how the detective had felt. He supposed he had been upset at the man for bringing in the evidence that had gotten Athena in trouble. It was unfair of him, the detective had been just taken advantage of by someone who had planted the evidence. And in the end, it hadn't been enough to prove Athena guilty.

Fulbright nodded. "It's a surprise to see you here."

He went on to tend the grave, cleaning the dead leaves and flowers away.

Phoenix just stood there, uncertain what to say and hoping he would have brought something. Flowers, maybe?

"Do you come here often?" he tried making conversation, hoping that didn't come off as inappropriate or clumsy.

"Not as often as I would like. I have been busy with work. But if I don't do this, who will? At least this time the flowers weren't stolen. Last time I came here the grave was a mess, since apparently they had deposited a pile of dead leaves on it."

It felt odd, seeing the usually loud detective this subdued. "What was done to him was not justice."

"No, it wasn't," Phoenix agreed.

The two men stood in uncomfortable silence. The attorney wasn't sure he had learned anything, but at least he had hopefully been able to help someone else with their grieving process.

Phoenix was just wondering how long he was expected to stand there, when another familiar voice interrupted them. "Excuse me! What are you doing here?!"

"Ah! Let me introduce you!" Fulbright exclaimed, suddenly seeming like his old self again. "This is Officer Meekins! Meekins, this is Mr. Wright, a defense attorney."

"We have met." Phoenix told him. Last he had heard, the man had been rehired to the force a second time. He had a way of getting into trouble, however, so his mere presence felt like a possible lead.

"I'm guessing you are the officer standing guard here?" He asked Meekins.

The man saluted as enthusiastically as ever. "Yes, Sir! I am part of the police force assigned to guard this cemetery. I have seen absolutely nothing suspicious or weird!"

There was the familiar feeling of the time stopping for a moment, as Phoenix's senses focused on Meekins.

And the chains kept in place around the man with two Psyche-locks.

_It seems he has something to hide. Maybe he did see something._

Phoenix's fingers grasped the Magatama in his pocket. He focused and presented it.

"Officer Meekins, could it be that you really did see something odd?"

"No-no! Nothing out-of-place or weird!"

You didn't need the Magatama to know he was lying.

"Why are you are posted here? Graveyards aren't usually kept under police guard." Phoenix already knew the answer, but decided it was a good place to start.

"I was ordered to keep an eye on this cemetery. But I can't talk about it. Police-suspect confidentiality."

"Let me guess, this was the person you were especially told to keep an eye out for." Phoenix presented the picture of Aura Blackquill.

Meekins jumped, but no Psyche locks were broken. "Yes. But I haven't seen her."

"I believe you. But you have seen _someone_."

To Phoenix's satisfaction, one of the locks broke.

_One more to go._

Phoenix decided to change his approach. Instead of trying to guess who he had seen he asked: "Do you have any other duties, apart from guarding the graveyard?"

"No!"

He was nervous again.

"Do you tend to the graves?"

"No! I don't! I might help the grave-keeper sometimes, but nothing on the graveyard!"

"The grave-keeper?"

Meekins saluted. "A lovely lady! She made me tea when I was standing guard in the cold! I help her in return with some chores around the place."

Phoenix tried to think back to what Fulbright had told him. "Do you perhaps rake the leaves?"

If possible, Meekins seemed even more nervous, mumbling something.

"I think you did." Phoenix pressed him. "I think you dumped some leaves on this grave few weeks ago."

"No! I mean YYYEEESSS!"

And with that shrill scream the last lock broke.

Phoenix returned to the reality, noticing detective Fulbright was observing the two other men with uncharacteristic intensity.

But Phoenix wasn't done with Meekins yet.

"So, what did you witness?"

"Well, it was nighttime two weeks ago. I was standing on guard when I heard some noise."

"What kind of noise?"

"Well, you see that gate?" He gestured towards the gate Phoenix had passed through to enter the graveyard. "It's closed at night. I heard some kind of animal scratching on it, so I didn't open it. But then I thought that maybe it was a dog that had gotten lost, and I felt bad, so I opened the gate very loudly yelling 'PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELF!'"

"And?"

"Well, there was no-one. At least I didn't see anyone. Next thing I knew I was laying on the road."

"You were attacked?" Fulbright interjected.

"I guess so." He scratched his chin. "Or maybe I just hit my head. I might have seen a dark figure, but maybe I didn't. It was dark."

"And the grave?" Phoenix asked.

"Well, the next day I examined the graveyard, and found this grave had been vandalized. Someone had messed it up, but I figured it was just a dog. So I did my best to fix it. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Phoenix told him. "Do you think it could have been someone who sneaked in?"

Meekins shook his head. "No. This graveyard only has one gate, and it was locked. That's all I know, Sir! Can I go now? I promised Miss Ritan, that's the grave keeper, to go shopping for her, so I need to do my rounds extra-quick today!"

_Something tells me that this grave yard isn't under as good a guard as it could._

However, Phoenix simply nodded and thanked the officer, letting him leave.

"Mr. Lawyer, what's that green thing you have? I think you showed it to me before?"

"It's my Magatama." Phoenix answered Fulbright. "It helps me see if people are telling me the truth."

"Can I see it? It seems like a tool for justice!"

Hesitantly, Phoenix handed the jewel over to the detective. "It's a Fey heirloom."

"Just seems like a rock to me," the detective said, disappointed, and returned the stone. "Do you believe his story?"

"I believe Meekins saw something. We need to talk to this grave-keeper."

Fulbright nodded. "Follow me. I know where we can find her."

* * *

The grave keeper turned out to be a small woman somewhere in her 50's living in a small cottage next to the graveyard.

"My name is Phoenix Wright. I'm a defense attorney investigating a certain case," Phoenix told her with a practiced ease before remembering with a pang of pain that it wasn't true. He was investigating, true, but not as a defense attorney. Simply as a father. However, it was somewhat of a surprise to notice how quickly he had started thinking of himself as an attorney again, despite years of absence.

If the woman noticed his lack of a badge, she didn't say anything. "Please, come in. I hope you aren't here to take the nice young man away, he is a great help. You don't mind if I sit down, do you? I'm not as young as I used to be."

"Of course not, and we would just want to ask you some questions, Ms..?" Phoenix assured her.

"Yes, yes, of course." She started to stand up. "Let me get you some tea… My name is Samantha Ritan, but everyone calls me Sammy Ritan."

"No need to-" Phoenix started, but he was shushed silent. "Shhh, boy, of course I will get you some, as soon as I manage to get the teapot, oh it is _heavy_…"

"Let me help!" Fulbright offered, taking the pot.

"How nice!" Ms. Ritan smiled to Phoenix. "Such a nice young man!" She turned to detective. "And could you get the cookies, from the upper shelf…"

"Just ask me if you need anything." They sat down, leaving Fulbright to make the tea. "What did you want to know?"

"I just wanted to ask you if you have seen anything weird lately," Phoenix told her.

"No, nothing weird. It's not like the big city here, we don't have all those modern-day silliness here, like nose-rings or Jell-O."

"So, has Officer Meekins kept you company?"

"Yes, he is such a nice young man. Helps me around the house."

"I suppose it is nice having someone for company. Do you live here alone, next to the cemetery? Aren't you afraid?"

She huffed. "Nonsense. The dead make for peaceful neighbors. To be honest, wild dogs are the biggest threat around here."

"Dogs?"

"Well, we live close to nature here. There are deer here, one I used to feed on the yard. He was almost tame, and would let you close… But the poor thing was killed by a dog."

"You're sure it was a dog?"

"Well, what else could it have been? A wolf, maybe? Whatever it was, it mauled our deer. I had that boy Peekins dig a grave for what was left of the poor little thing."

"When did it happen?"

"Week ago, or maybe two."

"Are wild dogs a big problem around here?" Phoenix asked.

"Hmph, not before this. But it probably was the same dog Preekins told me he spotted in the graveyard."

That was all information Phoenix got out of her.

Well, all information he considered useful, at least. True, you never knew what information came useful later, and Phoenix had filed away just in case the pieces of knowledge on how her neighbor had stolen her laundry, and how the weather had been horrid lately, and how her sister had not sent her even a Christmas card this year.

But when she started sharing her views on the youth of today (lazy), mushrooms (suspicious), and Borginians (no sense of style), Phoenix decided he had heard enough, and escaped before he was roped into helping her with cleaning the attic.

Fulbright, however, was not as lucky, and ended up staying behind. Last Phoenix saw him he was helping her with the heavy lifting.

Well, Phoenix supposed everyone had their way of dealing with grief, and helping others was the way Fulbright coped.

As for himself, he couldn't afford grief.

Not yet.


	7. Athena Stumbles

"Who is your enemy?"

Athena dodged Himiko's kick, trying to think while avoiding hits. Aura? Yes, but wasn't she a victim as well? She was simply a symptom of a bigger problem. A bigger problem Ms. Blackquill had fought in her own way, as misguided as it was.

"The Dark age of the Law. That is the thing that must be destroyed."

To her surprise, the older woman smiled. "And how will you destroy it?"

Athena shook her head, keeping her eyes on the other woman. "I don't know. I did my best-"

"You did not."

"But-"

This time she didn't see kick coming, and was sent flying backwards. She managed to regain her footing, and took a defensive stance.

However, Himiko simply stood, seemingly content with her successful attack.

"If you truly did your best, you would have given your all, there would be no regrets. You didn't give up, or continue on your chosen path. You sought us out. Why?"

This mental attack hit Athena in a way harder than any of her kicks.

Athena told her the first thing that came to her mind. "I wanted answers."

Her teacher nodded. "Yes, you did. And so much more. You don't even know yet what brought you here. Tell me this. What caused this Dark Age of the law?"

This at least seemed like a simple question. "Two cases. One where a defense attorney was found guilty of forging evidence, and other where a prosecutor was convicted of murder."

"Right. And also very wrong."

"What do you mean?" Athena asked.

"Once you figure out the truth behind the Dark Age of the law, you have your answer."

* * *

"I have thought of it," Athena informed Himiko. "Your question. About the Dark age of the law and stuff."

The nun didn't raise her eyes from the vegetable soup she was brewing. "Have you now?"

Athena resumed cleaning the kitchen floor. "It's because they were both high profile cases."

"Ah, so you are, like a little fawn, stumbling your way towards the truth."

Somewhat miffed at being called a fawn Athena stood. "They were both men known for their integrity. So for them to be 'revealed' as dishonest shook people's faith in the system!" She declared, waving the cleaning rag. (A bit too enthusiastically, she hoped Himiko didn't notice some drops of dirty water flying to the soup.)

"One more step towards the end. But you aren't done yet. Neither done stumbling towards the truth or cleaning the floor. Don't wave that dirty rag like that. Not all of us enjoy the taste of floor in our food."

Athena knelt back down, continued her work and tried to think. "What else could there be?"

"You have yet to realize the true tragedy behind their cases. Or the first mistake of Phoenix Wright. But you are ready now."

"Huh? Ready for what?"

"For the next part of your training."

"Très Bien! Let's go."

"After dinner. And after you have done the dishes."

* * *

Athena was blindfolded. She wasn't too worried, though. She still had her ears.

She stood, still and silent.

She could hear the other woman moving in the room, her breathing giving her away.

Just in time, she moved out of the way, avoiding her punch. Athena turned, trying to catch her, but her fist only hit fabric, failing to connect with her opponent.

Athena grinned, certain to get her the next time.

Instead, she was punched in the gut, and fell on her knees, gasping for air.

_How did she do it!? I couldn't hear her at all!_

"You trust your ears too much." Himiko told her student.

Athena stood again, trying to pinpoint the location of the other woman.

_Nothing._

She stood still, for what felt like ages, muscles tense, ready to react.

"Excuse me."

Athena recognized this voice. It belonged to one of the nuns in the temple. She didn't even know their names, every time she'd try to talk to any other nun than Himiko she'd just face silence and polite smiles and bows.

"We were not to be disturbed. That was a direct order."

Athena jumped back, shocked at where Himiko's reply had come from. She pulled down the blindfold, and there the silver-haired nun was, in front of Athena, so close to her they were almost touching.

_How did I not sense her? It was like she teleported or something!_

Himiko paid no attention to her pupil, completely focused on the other nun.

Said nun bowed.

"I apologize, but the Master has arrived. She wishes to see your apprentice."


End file.
